Chapter 772: Seeing the outside world is also quite good

When Li Long arrived at Ha Ha Li Mu's winter den, Ha Ha Li Mu's wife had already returned from Ta Lihaer's house.

Currently, in Ha Ha Li Mu's family, Na Sen and Sa Si Ken spoke Han language better, so Li Long told them the basic situation, and the two of them scrambled to translate for the grandmother and mother.

Knowing that Ha Ha Li Mu would only be able to return with Ta Lihaer in a few days, Ha Ha Li Mu's wife just nodded and then let Li Long get on the kang to drink milk tea.

Li Long waved his hand and said:

"I have to rush back now. Tomorrow morning I'll go to the hospital to see Ta Lihaer again. He might be a bit nervous after being hospitalized. I'll be running to the hospital for these two days, and if there's any situation, I'll come back and tell you."

After Li Long finished speaking, he hurriedly drove the jeep down the mountain.

At Qingshuihe Village, Li Long saw Meng Hai waving on the side of the road.

He stopped the car, turned off the engine, got out, and shook hands with Meng Hai.

"Comrade Li Long, I heard the sound of the jeep twice and thought it was you, so I specifically ran over to wait and see. Hey, I really did wait for you. You are..." Meng Hai asked with a loud voice.

"A friend in the mountains was injured. I took him to Shicheng Hospital this morning, and he's hospitalized. I'm coming back to notify their family."

"Is it serious?" Meng Hai, who was originally smiling, became solemn, "How did he get injured in the mountains? Did he fall off a horse?"

"Gored by a wild boar while hunting." Li Long explained, "The external injury is quite serious, but it was treated in the hospital. The main thing is that it's not easy to treat inflammation in the mountains."

"Those wild boars are truly fierce." Meng Hai nodded after hearing this, "You have to be careful when you encounter them. We encountered a few groups after autumn here, but fortunately, there wasn't much to gore. By the way, we also hit some Mongolian gazelles later, the pelts are left at home, I heard the collection station is gone, and they can't be sold..."

"It's fine, it'll open in the spring." Li Long smiled and said, "I took over that collection station. Later, when spring comes, you can send them over, or when I have time to come up, I can collect them at the team."

"Really? That's great!" Meng Hai smiled and said, "Come, come, come, take this, you must take it. Alright, it's almost dark, I won't keep you, hurry and go."

Meng Hai lifted a fertilizer bag from his feet. Li Long hadn't noticed it before—mainly because the bag was grayish-white and the color was similar to the snow on the side of the road.

The bag was tied with hemp rope, and there was something moving inside, so Li Long asked:

"What's this?"

"Two roosters and two hens, nothing good, take them home to eat. Your children are young, both adults and children need to nourish themselves. Alright, hurry and go, it's quite cold, I'm going back too."

After speaking, Meng Hai waved his hand and turned to walk toward the team.

He was afraid that Li Long wouldn't take it.

Li Long smiled, lifted the bag and put it in the trunk, glanced at Meng Hai again, got in the car, and left.

Returning to the big courtyard, the sun still had a while before setting. The one who opened the door was still Han Fang. She was still quite cheerful after returning from the Fourth Team, occasionally mentioning when she could go again.

Li Long took the bag containing the chickens out of the trunk and said to Han Fang, who had closed the big gate:

"Little Fang, go prepare a basin, we're slaughtering chickens. After slaughtering, save the chicken feathers, and make a shuttlecock."

At this time, shuttlecocks were made using feathers from the neck or both sides of the tail of a rooster, plus a cloth strip and two copper coins, and a piece of thread.

At this time, children wouldn't feel it was cruel; some even plucked feathers directly from the neck of a live rooster. A shuttlecock only needed seven or eight feathers, and if tied tightly, it could be played with for a whole winter.

"Good, good!" Han Fang was very happy and immediately ran to the kitchen to get a basin, then came back with a bowl.

Li Long smiled. He untied the fertilizer bag and pulled out a large, colorful rooster.

This rooster weighed three or four kilograms and was quite fierce. Looking at its posture, if Li Long wasn't careful, it still intended to peck him to try.

Li Long held its wings, grabbed its comb in his left hand, pulled out his small knife with his right hand, wiped it on the neck feathers, and then slaughtered the chicken.

Han Fang hurriedly took the bowl to catch the blood. After the blood was mostly caught, she put the bowl down in the kitchen and ran back. Li Long had already thrown the rooster on the ground and went back to the kitchen to boil water to prepare for scalding the chicken feathers.

Watching the large rooster flap a few times and then stop moving, Han Fang hurriedly stepped forward, squatted down, and began to pick the feathers she liked.

When Li Long came out and put the rooster in the basin, preparing to take it to the kitchen to scald the feathers, Han Fang had already run into the room clutching a handful of chicken feathers.

At her age, making a shuttlecock was no longer a big deal. As for copper coins, almost every family could find a few these days.

Sister Yang was looking after the children. She came out when she had a chance, greeted Li Long, and then hurriedly went back into the room. Mingming and Haohao could crawl now, and as long as they were awake, they didn't want to be idle for a moment, so looking after them was even more tiring.

Li Long let the remaining three chickens run in the courtyard. Actually, he didn't intend to raise chickens in this courtyard; not only was their poop smelly, but it was everywhere, and it was troublesome to clean up.

However, there was no need to slaughter all three at once. Let them run and feed for a few days, and slaughter them all before the New Year to hang them up and eat them slowly.

After cleaning this rooster, Li Long didn't wait for Sister Yang to take over; he went to peel potatoes, soak chili peppers, peel garlic, and prepare to make a big plate of chicken.

Of course, he didn't do it all; he kept the chicken back to stew a chicken soup, preparing to send it to Ta Lihaer tomorrow.

An injured person needs nourishment. Chicken soup with noodles is quite good, at least it's quite suitable for patients to eat at this time.

Seeing that it was time to cook, Sister Yang called Han Fang to take over the babies; she mainly didn't want to call Li Long. After Han Fang went over to look after the two children, the shuttlecock in her hand had already taken shape. Mingming and Haohao were immediately attracted by this colorful, novel thing, both scrambling to want it, and as soon as they got it, they stuffed it into their mouths.

Han Fang hurriedly snatched it back and hid it—this thing wasn't for eating!

The two children were a bit unhappy and started shouting—they couldn't speak yet, but when they were dissatisfied, they didn't cry, they shouted first.

Han Fang couldn't understand baby talk either, but fortunately, she knew what to do, explaining slowly and gently:

"Mingming, Haohao, this isn't for eating, eating this will make you sick. Wait a while until Auntie Xia comes back, then you'll have something good to eat."

Normally, Han Fang called Li Long "Uncle," so she should call Gu Xiaoxia "Auntie." But Han Fang was used to calling Li Long "Uncle" and Gu Xiaoxia "Auntie," counting them both as older.

Sister Yang came back after a while. Li Long's side of the cooking was almost done, and he didn't need her help, so she went back to look after the children.

When Gu Xiaoxia came back, the food was already ready. At the dinner table, Li Long talked about Ta Lihaer's situation, and Gu Xiaoxia said worriedly:

"Will it affect anything later? He won't become a cripple, will he?"

"No, it's just that he might have scars." Li Long said with a smile, "To them, this doesn't count as anything."

"Then you must be careful when hunting in the future." Gu Xiaoxia's focus was here, "The wild animals in the mountains aren't like the ones raised at home, you must be careful. We don't lack this at home now, so if you can avoid it, try to avoid it."

"Alright, I know." Li Long explained:

"I'm different from him. When hunting before, I always shot from far away. My eyes are good, and my marksmanship is good, so I shoot from far and accurately. For things like wolves, wild boars, and bears, if I can hit them from far away, I don't run up to them.

He counts as a greenhorn, and the terrain where he hunts is also quite dangerous, which is why this kind of thing happened."

"In any case, you must be careful."

Li Long recalled his own hunting situations. Except for that time with the bear in the tree hole, and the wolves ambushed outside Ha Ha Li Mu's winter den—these two times were relatively dangerous—and one time when he and Tao Daqiang were hunting wild boars in the mountains and were counter-charged, other times were relatively safe.

Right, there was also that time he hunted a lynx and got scratched by a claw, which was the only time he saw blood.

In general, for most hunting, Li Long aimed from far away, which was the advantage of gun hunting. This standard rifle had great power and could shoot from far away, without waiting until he was close, which avoided most of the danger.

However, Ta Lihaer's injury this time really served as a reminder to Li Long. The wild beasts in the mountains were fierce creatures after all, so he really had to be careful when hunting in the future.

The next day, Li Long took the boiled chicken soup and the cooked noodles to the Shicheng Second Hospital.

To prevent the noodles from becoming a lump in the soup, Sister Yang, after cooking the noodles, mixed them with cooled, cooked rapeseed oil, so that when it was time to eat, the noodles wouldn't be very mushy.

In the hospital, Ha Ha Li Mu and Ta Lihaer were brushing their teeth in the water room. Both of them had white foam on their mouths, but neither had blood, and both were very serious.

Ta Lihaer was quite shy at first, but Ha Ha Li Mu took the opportunity when no one was around to tell him what Li Long had said, and Ta Lihaer was relieved.

That's right, what we don't understand we learn, and what we know, you also have things you don't understand, there's nothing to it.

Thinking about it, things were easier to talk about.

At first, there were still people watching. After all, the department was only this big, and people coming and going all knew that two ethnic minority people from the mountains had come here, and their living habits were relatively "primitive." At first, there were people watching.

Ha Ha Li Mu was easy to talk to, but Ta Lihaer was still a bit ashamed. Fortunately, Ha Ha Li Mu reminded him from time to time, and he himself, as a young man who loved to learn, would also take the initiative to ask.

Gradually, those patients and family members who wanted to see a joke stopped saying anything, and even took the initiative to help remind them.

The nurses also helped protect them, which made Ha Ha Li Mu and Ta Lihaer quite happy.

They just hadn't lived in such an environment, they weren't stupid, and they could basically tell who was kind and who was ill-intentioned.

"Really didn't expect that Li Long and the others' lives were like this, quite fresh." Ta Lihaer said after brushing his teeth, feeling his mouth numb, quite interesting, he said while washing the mug.

This mug wasn't just for brushing teeth; after washing it clean, it was also for drinking water.

"Na Sen and Sa Si Ken told me, I didn't pay attention at the time. He said some of his classmates lived like this, brushing their teeth every day, washing their feet every night, and even washing behind their ears clean."

Ha Ha Li Mu said while washing his face after brushing his teeth.

The water was cold, but warmer than the water in the pipe outside the winter den, and it felt very comfortable to wash, feeling instantly clear-headed.

He slept on the extra bed last night, Ta Lihaer snored, and he didn't sleep very well, and at the same time, he was worried that his and Ta Lihaer's snoring would affect that middle-aged man.

Fortunately, he didn't hear that middle-aged man complain about anything from beginning to end, and Ha Ha Li Mu felt that this person was quite good.

He didn't sleep very well, thinking that if there was nothing to do during the day today, he could make up for some sleep.

After washing, Ha Ha Li Mu went to get food. Although Li Long had accompanied him around yesterday, he was still a bit nervous.

Holding the money in his hand, it was almost sweaty.

He had asked Ta Lihaer, and that middle-aged man had also reminded him, that in the morning there was porridge, steamed buns, pickles, and cornmeal steamed cake.

Unfortunately, there was no naan, no milk tea.

"What are you getting?" the person serving food asked Ha Ha Li Mu proactively.

"Two porridges, four steamed buns, two pickles." Ha Ha Li Mu had recited it many times, so he said it very smoothly.

"Five mao." the person inside said.

Unexpectedly cheap, which really surprised Ha Ha Li Mu.

He hurriedly opened the money he had prepared, took out a five-mao note, and handed it over.

"Lunch box."

"Oh, oh... here!"

In one lunch box, two portions of pickles and four steamed buns were served, and in the other lunch box, two portions of porridge were mixed together.

Usually, when serving one portion of food, the server would put the pickles and steamed buns on the lid of the lunch box, and the porridge in the lunch box, so one lunch box was enough.

But now that one person was carrying two portions of food, it could only be served like this.

Returning to the ward, Ta Lihaer was already waiting.

When the two were eating, the middle-aged man went to get food in a leisurely manner. By the time they finished eating and went to the water room to wash, the middle-aged man had just returned.

During working hours, the nurse came to give the injection. Somewhat unexpectedly, there was no particularly strong smell in the room.

Ta Lihaer sensed her surprise and smiled proudly at Ha Ha Li Mu.

It turned out that last night, the two of them washed their socks together, then hung them on the radiator in the water room, and got up early this morning to put them on. The shoes were also placed by the radiator in the water room to roast, the smell dissipated, and naturally, it wasn't that smelly anymore.

To tell the truth, there really weren't many people who could wash their feet and socks every day at this time; after all, resources were limited and far less abundant than in later generations.

When hanging the needle, Ha Ha Li Mu leaned against the radiator with a stool and dozed off. Ta Lihaer slept better last night, so he didn't need to watch when hanging the needle.

That middle-aged man was also hanging a needle. When the doctor came to check the ward, he checked his wound and told him to eat less spicy food.

When Li Long came, Ta Lihaer's injection was already finished. Actually, he shouldn't have been able to get in in the morning, but Li Long went directly to the department director and explained the situation.

The department director felt that it was the first time two ethnic minority people were hospitalized, and a Han youth coming to take care of them could be considered a good story, so he made an exception and let him in.

"Looking good." Li Long saw that Ta Lihaer's complexion was clearly much better and said with a smile, "Come, I brought you chicken soup noodles, the chicken soup is still hot, come, come, come, try it."

That middle-aged man looked curiously at Li Long's actions. Li Long noticed this and asked:

"This fellow patient, do you want some?"

"I won't." The man waved his hand, "You ran here from Maxian? Quite hard, right?"

"It's nothing, I'm used to it. When there's nothing, I often run here too." Li Long said casually, "Are you from Shicheng?"

"Yes, from the Corps." The man replied.

While Li Long was talking, he had already divided the chicken soup into two lunch boxes, and it was indeed warm.

This rooster was fat and had plenty of oil, so it wouldn't cool down for a while. There was once a legend about chicken soup, saying that at that time, the foreigners of the Eight-Nation Alliance used steaming ice cream to mock a Qing dynasty official for not having seen the world, and that Qing dynasty official used chicken soup topped with cilantro and a layer of oil to scald the foreigner's mouth with blisters.

I don't know if it's true or not, but it's true that chicken soup with a layer of oil floating on top is certainly very hard to cool down.

Li Long also divided the noodles into two halves and put them into the two lunch boxes for them to eat.

While eating, Li Long also asked:

"No more fever?"

"No more fever, the wound was medicated, although it's not comfortable, but I can feel it getting better." Ta Lihaer said while eating.

There was shredded chicken meat in the chicken soup, and although there was only a little bit of salt, it was a good thing in itself and very fragrant.

"Li Long, you don't need to come every day later." Ha Ha Li Mu said while eating, "You have your own things to do, no need to take care of us like this."

"It's fine, I'm idle anyway. Besides, I have to know when you're discharged, right?" Li Long said with a smile, "I still have to send you home safely."

"Alright then, anyway you have a car." Ha Ha Li Mu didn't insist anymore. When Li Long was there, he felt more at ease.

When Li Long left, he went to ask the doctor, and the doctor's answer was quite optimistic.

"Stay for seven days, and you'll be able to go back and recuperate. As long as there's no strenuous activity, and since it's winter now, there basically won't be any problems with the wound."

The doctor also said some things to avoid eating. He already knew about the friendship between Li Long, this Han youth, and Ha Ha Li Mu and the others, the ethnic minorities, and he quite appreciated it.

For the next few days, Li Long sent chicken soup every day. By the time Ta Lihaer was discharged, he said he was about to vomit from eating it.

Ha Ha Li Mu slapped him.

Ta Lihaer didn't know so much in the hospital bed, but Ha Ha Li Mu heard a lot from other patients while busy, and they all said Li Long was Ta Lihaer's relative, otherwise he wouldn't have sent chicken soup to him every day.

Chicken meat was also quite expensive at this time; it would be good to send it for a day or two, but sending it every day, and clearly smelling the smell and seeing the bones cleaned, it was fresh every day, not the kind where one chicken was stewed for many days.

I don't know if it's scientific or not, but anyway, other patients said that Ta Lihaer being able to be discharged so quickly, the chicken soup noodles had a lot of credit.

People at this time had an obsession with using these nutritious things to nourish their bodies.

But don't say, when discharged, Ta Lihaer was not only much whiter but also much fatter.

"Discharged, let's go have a good meal, get a haircut, and show everyone when we get back to the winter den that we didn't stay outside in vain." Li Long drove the car, took the two people out, and said while walking.

"Don't want to eat, don't want to eat, just want to eat naan, drink some milk tea." Ta Lihaer could walk on his own now, the wound was healed, the scar hadn't fallen off, but small movements were still possible. He shouted, "Miss it so much!"

"Alright, alright, alright, then I'll take you to drink milk tea." Li Long smiled.

That's right, twenty-something years of habits, how could it be so easy to change. This thing that you drink every day, suddenly not drinking it for a week, you must miss it. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 773 =====